This invention relates in general to fishing gear and more specifically to a weighted fishing accessory which is capable of performing a variety of functions and which finds particular utility in freeing snagged fishing lures.
Fish hooks which become snagged on underwater obstacles can be difficult to unsnag and retrieve. As a consequence, a variety of devices have been proposed for use in freeing snagged fishing lures. By way of example, fishing lure retrievers of various types are shown in the following U.S. Pats.: No. 3,216,143 to Seldon; No. 3,295,342 to Mohar; No. 3,54,345 to Whitehead; No. 3,805,435 to Serrill; and No. 4,408,411 to Skarnells.
The devices shown in these patents are all less than satisfactory in at least some respects. Most are unduly complicated and difficult to use, and they are also lacking to some extent in effectiveness. The provision of a lure retriever that may be quickly and easily applied to a fishing line and yet retained securely thereon has proven to be a particularly troublesome problem which the present invention is aimed at solving.
The present invention is directed to a fishing accessory which is constructed to serve multiple purposes in connection with fishing activities, including the freeing of snagged lures and the weighting of fishing lines, trot lines, trawler lines and fishing nets. It is a particular feature of the invention that the device may be quickly and easily applied to a fishing line or net and removed with equal ease and dispatch. At the same time, the device is securely maintained on the line or net so that it is not subject to being inadvertently dislodged and possibly lost.
In accordance with the invention, a stiff wire is formed as a straight pin having loops on its opposite ends. Two lead weights are mounted to slide on the pin and are urged apart against the loops by a single compression spring which is coiled on the center of the pin. Each loop provides an eye having a gap which is large enough to receive a fishing line or net strand. The weights normally close off the gaps so that the device cannot inadvertently slip off of the fishing line or net. However, the weights can be purposely moved against the spring force to expose the gaps when the device is to be applied to or detached from a line or net.